Your Wardrobe Unlock'd

No matter how good a garment is, it can always be improved by adding some lace. Izabela looks at Punto in Aria and bobbin lace.

Monochromatic Embroidery is an umbrella term used to describe a type of embellishment popular during the 16th Century.

Five simple techniques can make a wide range of jewelry to provide the finishing touch to your Tudor or Renaissance outfit.

You've just finished sewing your dream outfit—maybe it's Tudor, or 1550s Florentine, or a gorgeous black velvet Spanish gown—and it fits perfectly, but something seems to be missing.  

Accessories take an outfit from costume to clothing, and jewelry played a huge role in the opulent look of middle-class and noble 16th century clothing for both men and women.

While some types of 16th century jewelry require serious metalworking skills or advanced faux techniques in polymer clay and other materials, a huge range of beautiful and authentic jewelry can be made using basic beadwork techniques, supplemented with carefully chosen costume jewelry.

A common design element in the 16th & 17th centuries, Strap-work is an interesting and rich-looking textural technique that can enhance your garment without the need to spend a lot of money.

Alyxx takes us through a wealth of inspirational portraits and then shows us step-by-step how to reproduce the look.

There is no right way to make a sixteenth century corset. In period, each garment was made for a specific woman with specific wants and needs.

That means that those of us who want to recreate the clothing of the period have a bit of a mystery to unravel. Luckily, two pairs of bodies from the period have survived to help give us a clearer picture of what those corsets looked like and how they functioned.

Lindsey Eastman has tested each of these period patterns, plus one modern interpretation and one “hybrid” style, in order to compare them and determine the advantages and disadvantages for herself - and for us!

...to Elsabet Rowth one kyrtyll of worsted upper bodyed with blew satyn of bryderies...

The British History Online site is a wonderful source of first hand information about the clothing and material objects of daily life in Tudor England.

Come explore the riches with us! 

The ten year wait for Janet Arnold's last work is over: Patterns of Fashion 4 is to be published on November 7th, and this month YWU is celebrating its release!

This extraordinary treasure trove, the final book in the series, has been completed with additional material by Jenny Tiramani and Santina M. Levey after Janet's passing in 1998. We've been smiling very sweetly at the publisher, and our grovelling has paid off with an advance copy. So Marion's ready to give you her exclusive review!

After a wait of almost ten years, Patterns of Fashion 4 was released in late 2008. Janet Arnold's final work covers all kinds of extant ruffs, collars, smocks, shifts and chemises in astounding detail, with mouth-watering photographs and the clear, complete annotated patterns that she was so famous for.

To celebrate, we thought we'd feature details on where to get some of the fine quality materials to re-create the items in the book.

Here at YWU we understand first-hand how difficult it can be to bind corsets, stays and bodies neatly. After all those hours of careful work, fitting, boning and stitching, the £$!*?& binding lets you down!

Even if you're otherwise a great costumer, the frustration of binding can inspire the most experienced needleperson to throw things. So in the interests of your inner calm, "Doctor" Cathy offers the cure… find out once and for all how to perfect your stays and corsets with Part One of our indispensible guide!

The gorgeous Elizabethan gown is completed after months of work. Everything is beautifully fitted and sewn, the fabrics are near-as-damn-it authentic and just perfect. It looks amazing, but something is missing. That small detail which is always seen in the portraits but never noticed.

You need a piece of needlelace!

This Masterclass will show you how to add that little bit extra to your gorgeous gown. The technique used is Drawn Threadwork and the garment is a pair of Drawn Threadwork Cuffs (pictured right).

The technique is easily transferable to other decorative linen garments such as the ubiquitous Elizabethan Coif, a partlet or embellishment to a shirt or smock. Or you can use the technique for the border of a handkerchief.

The skill is not just restricted to Elizabethan costuming but is seen from very early medieval period right through to the twentieth century and on all kinds of linen items such as caps, Edwardian shirtwaists, collars, aprons and handkerchiefs.

Once you've learned the basics, you can unleash your imagination!

This month, you may watch in amusement as I wrangle with a subject I know very little about.

If you're as briefly acquainted with Tudor and Elizabethan costume as I am, prepare for a treat as we "ooh" and "aah" together over a new and wonderful branch of costume. Meanwhile, if this is your thang, you may alternatively watch in the aforementioned amusement and then go off to our Website of the Month in informed adoration of your very favourite thing.

Ninya Mikhaila, professional historical costumier and co-author of The Tudor Tailor, designs and makes high quality reproduction costumes that help to bring history to life. Working to the individual needs of heritage sites, museums, stately homes and private clients, complete costumes include beautifully made underpinnings, accessories and headgear. All of the costumes are handmade to the highest standards: no visible machine stitching, all natural materials and meticulous research are all fundamental to Ninya’s service. Fastenings and trimmings are all recreated to be as close to the originals as possible.

Ninya's clients include The Royal Armouries, Historic Royal Palaces, The National Trust, English Heritage, The Public Records Office and Gainsborough’s House, and this month Your Wardrobe Unlock’d was lucky enough to track her down in Edinburgh…

Photograph (c) Tudor Tailor